ADL Applauds Arrests Of Ohio Residents For Conspiring To Provide Material Support To Hezbollah

Cleveland, OH, June 17, 2010 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) applauded federal law enforcement officials for their investigation leading to the arrests earlier this month of two Toledo residents charged with conspiring to provide material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Hor I. Akl, and his wife, Amera A. Akl, both 37 and dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, are accused of attempting to arrange a transfer of $500,000 to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Ohio residents are the latest Americans to be charged or convicted in the U.S.on terrorism offenses relating to Hezbollah.

We applaud the work of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in uncovering this alleged plot to smuggle $500,000 to Hezbollah in Lebanon with the understanding that the terrorist group would use these funds "to target Israel."

This case highlights the continued importance of the work of law enforcement in tracking financial support to foreign terrorist organizations.

We commend U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service for their proactive stance against domestic support for terrorism. We very much hope these arrests will also serve as a meaningful deterrent for others who might attempt to aid other terrorist plots and terrorist organizations.

The League has closely tracked the growing and increasingly dangerous domestic terror threat posed by Americans motivated by radical interpretations of Islam. ADL has compiled a chronology of criminal proceedings of American Muslim extremists charged, convicted or sentenced since 2002 on terrorism-related offenses – ranging from providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations to plotting violent attacks in the U.S.

ADL is the world’s leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education, and fighting hate online, ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate.

The humanitarian crisis at the U.S. border has worsened. Use this lesson to explore with students the experiences of migrants seeking asylum, the conditions of the detention facilities and identify actions to address the crisis.